With my premise already in mind, I take about a week before I actually begin writing to formulate an outline (not very detailed) and complete character sketches of the main characters. Then I determine when I want to finish my first draft, and divide by the number of writing days until that deadline (usually I plan to write five days a week).

That gives me my daily quota. When I first started writing and didn’t have any other writing-related tasks (promoting, blogging, Minesweeper, procrastinating, answering emails, etc.), I’d usually settle on a 2000 word/day quota. Now that I have other junk very important marketing and promotion things to do, my quotas are usually somewhere between 1000 and 1500 words per day.

When my writing period begins, I employ BICFOK. Butt In Chair, Fingers On Keyboard. In other words, I sit there until I’ve achieved my quota.

Some days, if the writing is like shoveling sludge, I’ll get up the instant I reach my daily goal, even if it’s in the middle of a sentence.

After I’ve attained my quota, I’ll move on to other things (and I’ve got no shortage of other things on my to-do list).

Once in a while, life gets in the way and I don’t reach my daily quota. That’s what weekends are for—catching up.

The great thing about his method is that I know, with a great deal of certainty, if I meet my daily goals, then when I reach my deadline, I’ll have a complete first draft. Something else I know with a great deal of certainty? The manuscript will smell to high heaven, but at least I’ll have a first draft I can carve to pieces.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

When you’re in writing mode, do you
follow a word quota, a time quota or do you just wait for your muse to arrive,
words in hand?

By Tracy Kiely

Here is my process, broken down in
two helpful phases.

Phase One: I give myself a deadline for a first draft and begin
writing. Generally, I imagine that I will be writing my book while dressed in
some stylish, yet comfortable, white linen ensemble. My house will be clean,
organized, and decorated in a way that suggests professional help or a stunning
level of personal taste. A cup of hot tea sits beside me on my desk and I type
away, not letting distractions interrupt me. I finish ahead of schedule and
manage to lose five pounds in the process.

Phase Two: Chaos. After glancing away for a teensy second,
my muse ups and leaves.I don’t know if
she ducked out for a quick cigarette or what, but she is MIA. I begin to
suspect that she may have been hit by a bus.Either that or she’s sprawled on a beach somewhere in Cancun. I begin to
panic. My tea is cold and I gain ten pounds in one day. I try to clean my house
in the hopes that this will lure my Muse back. It does not. I panic some more.
After a few months, my Muse returns. She smells horrible and refuses to explain
herself. I am so grateful, I don’t care (but I won’t let her sit on the white
couch – I’m not delusional). We spit out the book, and I collapse and swear I
will never let this happen again.

I, of course, am lying to myself.

Here is the best visual can find to
explain my process.(I’ve edited it for
our delicate readers)

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

“When you’re in writing mode, do you follow a word quota, a time quota, or do you just wait for your muse to arrive, words in hand?”

It sounds so romantic, doesn’t it, ‘waiting for the muse to strike’? I have images of a writer nestled in a comfy chair with a cat sound asleep on his or her lap. While waiting for the muse, they ponder the lofty mountain view before them. Or better yet are bathed by warm tropical breezes as they sit waiting on a lanai and listen to the palm trees clatter and the waves crash onto the beach below (Since I’m heading off to the Caribbean next week, these tropical images are foremost in my mind) Of course, the ever ready computer is on the table beside the writer, waiting for that moment. And I mustn’t forget the most important part, a glass of scotch or wine, even Pernod, a must to help the muse along. And when it does the words pour out… Sounds idyllic, doesn’t it?

I tell you it might work for some writers, but if this writer waited for the muse to arrive, nothing would get written. That’s not to say the muse doesn’t happen. There are times, when the words seem to flow faster than I can type them, but it happens so rarely. Besides I think I’d end up getting a rather sore bottom with all that waiting, not to mention the drunken stupor.

Nope, for me the only thing that works is establishing a set time to write. At a minimum, I set aside three days a week, Monday through Wednesday. I make a point of never scheduling any activities on these days. If I am free, I will also write on Thursday and Friday, but these days are set aside for yoga, biking, household chores and the like. Rarely do I write on the weekends, that’s play time with my husband. And the only thing I drink is word-inspiring tea; English Breakfast, Darjeeling or Assam. If I tried anything alcoholic, I’d be too fuzzy headed to write anything.

I don’t set myself a word or time quota, rather when I am in first draft creation mode, I write until I run out of steam, usually after three or four hours. I probably tend to average 1,500 to 2,000 words, but if the muse does happen to strike, then it could go up to 5,000. But let me tell you, there are some days when it is like pulling teeth and all I manage to write is about 200 words. These are the days when I use Facebook, email and the Internet to help entice the muse. The only problem is, they are more a distraction than anything else, so I eventually have to cut myself off. I haven’t yet turned my WiFi off, but I have come close.

What I have learned over the years since I started writing crime fiction, is that writing requires discipline. Since the muse usually doesn’t arrive on schedule, I use time as my discipliner.

Monday, April 27, 2015

When you’re in writing mode, do you follow a word quota, a time quota or do you just wait for your muse to arrive, words in hand?

by Meredith Cole

Once upon a time I tried all three techniques. I find that I rely on my muse more for great ideas than I do with actually creating a draft because it’s frankly very unreliable. I think I waited for my muse to arrive for about a decade in my twenties, and I never managed to write a book. So I fired my muse and decided to try something else.

The time quota was next. When my son was just over a year, I won a NYFA grant for screenwriting. I used the money to join The Writers Room in Astor Place and pay for a babysitter two mornings a week. I would drop my son at the sitter, hop on the subway, and, when I arrived at an empty desk at the studio, I had exactly 2 hours to write. Some days I would end up writing notes or revising something. Other days I would create new material, but it was never that great. I ended up spending most of my time making tea, staring out at the view of the Empire State Building and wondering what everyone else was writing. But I eventually finished my draft so I guess it did work. Sort of.

Once I had a contract (and a deadline) I no longer had time to dither. I also didn’t have the same kind of blocks of free time that I had before. I needed to get my book done as quickly as I could. So I tried word quotas. And that worked for me.

As I write a rough draft of a new book, I play with different word quotas until I find one that’s both achievable but will help me make significant progress on my book. Right now I can do about 1,000 words a day. If I don’t get it done in the morning before I go to work, I need to do it at lunch or in the evening. But I need to get it done. The word quota helps me to keep going even when I'm not "in the mood," forces me at times to write more than I’m comfortable with, and often pushes me beyond what I already know in my WIP.

The best part of having a word count is that if I write fast, then I’m done for the day sooner. I can keep writing if I have the time and I’m excited to continue, but I don’t have to. And I can go through the rest of day without any guilt about my writing progress. Now I just need to find a way to get it so I can be guilt-free about all the other stuff (social media, email, etc.)...

Friday, April 24, 2015

Once upon a time, I went to some seminars or conferences in the LA area, mostly on screenwriting, and once to the ABA when it was here. But I wasn’t going to fiction or, more specifically, mystery conventions or conferences. Didn’t really start going to those until a couple of years ago. But I really enjoy them and didn’t realize what I was missing. But lately, I’ve been to a couple Bouchercons and Left Coast Crime, and I like them both.

And I did go to the first California Crime Writers Conference/Convention (though the name might have been different then) put on at that time by Sisters in Crime, as I was on the board at the time. That convention continues to this day and is coming up in June. I think there’s still a few openings left. Come on down. I’ll be on the Thrills and Chills (Crafting the Thriller and Suspense Novel) panel Saturday, June 6th at 10:30am. And if I (who sleeps during the day and is up all night) can get to it, so can you ;) – See end of this post for more details.

***

Bouchercon is, of course, the big kid on the block. And I’ve really enjoyed the B’cons that I’ve attended which, admittedly, is only two. The one in Albany in 2013 and the one in Long Beach in 2014.

The Albany convention was my first Bouchercon and my wife and I flew out there a few days early. We flew into Connecticut since there were no direct flights to Albany and drove through four states to get there. The weather was nice and it was fun driving through all those states, even though some were short jaunts. There is a whole different vibe to New England than to CA, especially southern CA, but that’s probably for another blog altogether.

We got to our hotel and had no idea what to do. Normally the convention is at a hotel and there’s a block of rooms reserved in that hotel for attendees. But that year the convention was at The Egg in Albany, a convention center not tied to any hotel. So, there were three hotels connected to that Bouchercon, but no real central hotel or watering hole. If one had to pick it would have been the Hilton, but we were too late to book a room there.

So getting to Albany a day or two early, we did some exploring of the city. And I really liked it a lot. I didn’t think I would, so I was pleasantly surprised. It’s very different than NYC. More of a “quaint,” at least in some ways, New England town, even though it’s the state capitol. And we enjoyed trying different restaurants, especially Jack’s Oyster House, where the likes of both presidents Roosevelt ate, along with Hillary Clinton, JFK, Jr. many governors of NY and gangster, Legs Diamond, though not all at the same time, of course. Also William Kennedy, the renowned novelist from Albany.

The convention came and I did my noir panel with Eric Beetner (M), Scott Adlerberg, John Billheimer, David Rich and Wallace Stroby. And that was enjoyable. I was honored to be chosen for a panel at my first Bouchercon. And it’s also great to meet other writers. I got copies of at least one of each of their books and read them on the plane to Albany and in the hotel once we got there. Aside from the panel I was on, we went to the various other panels and events. We didn’t know a lot of people when we got there, but we did know a few and we met some new friends that I’m still in touch with today.

We had an extra day at the end of the trip too, and did a little more exploring.

The only negative on the trip were the cramped plane seats. But other than that everything was great.
The next convention we went to was Left Coast Crime in Monterey, CA. For that, we drove up to Monterey. On the way up there, we took the “fast” route, going up the 5 Freeway. I took my very first selfie on the drive up there. It remains to be seen if I’ll post it here when the time comes. I don’t think I will...
That was my first Left Coast Crime and it, too, was a hell of a good experience. The convention was great. My panel was a lot of fun. Did a panel called Tough on Crime, with Robert Downs (M), Philip Donlay, Doc Macomber and David Putnam. The hotel was nice and a short walk from Fisherman’s Wharf. And though we’d both been to Monterey several times, as we love it there, we got to do some exploring, try some interesting restaurants and had a great time.

And now, being convention veterans, we knew more how to go about it. We also knew more people there as a lot of LA people went. And we hung out in the bar and listened to people read from their books in a clandestine Noir at the Bar and had a great time. And how can you not have a great time in Monterey anyway?

Drove home the scenic route down Pacific Coast Highway, which is stunning beyond words. We nearly ran out of gas, running on fumes trying to get to the “next” gas station, but we figured if we ran out of gas at least the view of the ocean and rocks was gorgeous and it wouldn’t be pure hell hanging out there for a while. We stopped for lunch at Nepenthe in Big Sur. Good food and great views!

I’ve always wanted to live on the central or northern California coast and that trip only rekindled that desire.

Next convention was Bouchercon in Long Beach, which was a relatively short drive from home. Did a panel on Short But Mighty (short stories) with Travis Richardson (M), Craig Faustus Buck, Barb Goffman, Robert Lopresti, and our own Art Taylor. And it was nice to meet another Criminal Mind in the flesh.

Nice hotel. Didn’t do much exploring of Long Beach, which I would have enjoyed ‘cause it’s changed so much since I’d spent any time there years ago.

The hotel and that whole area have been redeveloped. Back in the day it was the Pike and later Nu Pike, a seaside amusement area with midway and rides and lots of sailors. The perfect seedy seaside amusement zone. You can see it in several movies and TV shows, including the minor noir classic The Sniper, TV’s Emergency and many more. And it makes an appearance in my World War II homefront mystery, which hopefully will be out in the next year or so.

Then I was supposed to go to LCC in Portland recently, but had to cancel out due to personal reasons. I’m still bummed about that.

And I’m grateful to the folks at both Bouchercon and Left Coast for including me on panels. They’ve been a lot of fun and great learning experiences. It’s a great opportunity to visit a new city you’ve never been to or re-visit a city you already know well. And while the panels are great, it’s also great to get together in the bar afterward and schmooze and commiserate with like-minded authors. And that’s the best, or one of the best, parts of all these conventions, meeting your fellow authors, getting to know them, making new friends. And I did that at all of these conventions. And that alone is worth the trip.

I might have been a little reluctant to go to conventions in the past, skeptical that maybe I’d heard it all before. But I now realize the true value of these conferences is connecting with other writers. It’s not about selling tons of books, finding an agent or being “discovered,” but about connecting with other writers and fans of the mystery genre. And if you do find an agent or sell some books, so much the better. And I’ve found the panels to be both fun and informative, whether as a participant or audience member. And besides, where else can you discuss different methods of poisoning someone without being arrested?

You can bet I’ll be going to many more conventions in the future.

***

Speaking of conferences: Hope to you see at the California Crime Writers Conference
(http://ccwconference.org/ ). June 6th and 7th. I’ll be on the Thrills and Chills (Crafting the Thriller and Suspense Novel) panel, Saturday at 10:30am, along with Laurie Stevens (M), Doug Lyle, Diana Gould and Craig Buck.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

I can't pick a favourite convention. The best one is the one I'm at or packing for or still recovering from.

So I thought I'd put on my Scottish Tourist Board sash and tell you about Bloody Scotland. It's held in Stirling and if you like a bit of history with your crime cons Stirling's not too shabby. It's been there since the 12th century, Mary Queen of Scots lived there, her baby was crowned James VI there, and Robert the Bruce and Mel Gibs- I mean William Wallace both fought battles there.

There's a serious castle, by anyone's reckoning.

And then in 2012, Stirling's bloody history got a fresh chapter with the first annual celebration of Scottish crimewriting. I missed it. It was as though they waited until I left and then had a party. But I was there the next year and the third year and it's shot straight to the top of my list of cons.

Everyone from Ian Rankin to MC Beaton is to be found there. Some southerners cross the border, enough to have a Scotland v England football match, billed as a "friendly", perhaps on the theory that if you say it often enough it becomes true.

There are always a few Icelanders and other Nordics there, since it's more or less local for them. I like hanging out with Yrsa Sigurdardottir, because she makes me feel like I've got an easy to pronounce name.

And it's just a very warm, friendly, not completely sober get-together where even if things go wrong they turn out great. An example of this was the cooking/tasting demonstration tied in to the Killer Cookbook, Caro Ramsay's contribution to the Million for a Morgue appeal.

(Which is another story: did you know that, following a huge fund-raising effort, there's now a Val McDermid Mortuary in Scotland, with a Stuart MacBride dissecting room and a Jeffrey Deaver submersion tank?)

Anyway, back to the cookbook. Caro and Craig Robertson had been practicing their recipes for weeks, the event was a sell-out, and then the night before . . it was revealed that the venue insurance wouldn't allow the use of heat.

Caro, not a quitter, drove to a late-night supermarket and bought the ingredients for all the no-cook recipes in the Killer Cookbook. These were martinis mostly. And also cranachan, which is a dessert made with a little oatmeal, a little cream, a little honey and a lo-hot of whisky. There were no complaints.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

La Dolce Conventions

by Clare O'Donohue

Q: What are your favorite writing conferences/conventions to attend?
This is a tricky question for me because I don't attend many conferences or conventions. I'd like to, but my work schedule is already a labyrinth that involves multiple cities, various clients, and not nearly enough sleep. Fitting in writing is hard. Fitting in talking about writing has proven, more often than not, to be one item too many on the agenda.

I've not attended much in the way of conferences, which as Susan rightly pointed out, are about writing. I suppose because I first became aware of this world after my books were published I didn't think I would need the support. Lately, I've begun to realize I've missed something. I've attended Love is Murder, a Chicago (and therefore local to me) conference. But looking in the future, I'd love some advice on great conferences I should put on the list.

In terms of conventions, I've attended Malice Domestic several times, and really enjoyed the continuity and (forgive the pun) coziness of it. There are many author friends who are Malice regulars that don't attend other conferences and it's great to hang out. Plus it is one well-oiled machine, leaving less time spent being confused and more time spent having fun. I wish I could go every year, but that's not always in the cards.

I've wanted very much to attend Left Coast, which is, by all accounts, a terrific convention. I hear Hawaii is the location in a couple of years... hmmmmm.

The one place I've been a regular is Bouchercon, that moving target of a mystery convention/reunion. So, by default, this is my favorite. I like seeing friends, and making new ones. I like that it's a wide variety of subgenres represented. And I like that each year brings us to a new city. Admittedly, I don't often tour that city beyond the restaurants in the area of the convention, but I do get to see a lot of the hotel bar.

I also have to say that while neither a convention or a conference, Chicago's Printers Row Lit Festival is one of my favorite events. It's outdoors during June weekend, includes lots of hanging out with friends, and a fair amount of book sales.

I'm hoping that going forward I can spend more time at writer events, conventions, conferences etc... so it's my turn to ask a question. What is a "can't miss" I should put on my list for 2016?

My favorite conference is Surrey
International Writers Conference. The atmosphere buzzes with warmth
and excellence, which radiates down from the warm, brilliant
organizer, Kathy Chung, and her team of similarly devoted board members. There is so much talent in any room you're
in—not only because the presenters include the likes of Chevy
Stevens and Diana Gabaldon, but because the aspiring authors who
attend are smart, serious, and quite advanced in their craft. Some
attendees are even published authors.

I'd attended educational sessions there
in the past (if you ever have the opportunity to take a workshop from
Don Maass, jump at it), so I was excited to be a presenter there in
the fall of 2014. I taught two workshops—one on the craft of
mystery writing, another on public speaking for authors. I sat for three blue pencil sessions where attendees brought me pages of their work to insta-critique. Both during those sessions and at meals, I
met aspiring authors who I've stayed in touch and become friends
with.

I also doubled as an attendee. I used
every break I had to sit in on other presenters' workshops and soak
up the wisdom of my colleagues. Favorites were “Making Readers Cry”
taught by Robert J. Wiersema, and an excellent take on setting by
Hallie Ephron.

I also had a lot of fun (maybe one
night too much fun?) with my fellow presenters. There's something
about being in a hotel with wine and fellow writerly folks that makes
your inhibitions mysteriously disappear. (But they come back with a
thud the next morning, right Rachel Letofsky?)

Next convention on my list to attend is Left Coast
Crime. I've never been, but it sounds warm and wonderful. Maybe 2016?

Monday, April 20, 2015

The first thing to note in answering this
highly personal question is the distinction between conferences and conventions.
When I was new to the game, I didn’t realize the national/international Bouchercon
was a convention and I was bemused by the flock of women who followed closely
behind Laurie King wherever she
went, chattering among themselves but seemingly attached to her by an invisible
cord.

When another friend and I met Deborah Crombie at that Bouchercon
(can’t recall the year, but it was in Baltimore), she was charming but seemed
especially delighted that we were writers. It took me a bit to realize that she
had been bombarded by eager fans for the half hour before that in the bar. (Her
assumption was that I was a writer, not a fan, but that wasn’t really the case
– I’m a big fan of the long-running Gemma/Duncan series, set in London.) A
convention plays to the fans but fortifications are sometimes advised, and this martini glass is raised to Deb, who always chooses fancy drinks!.

I love the Left Coast Crime
convention, partly because I seem to know everyone, or at least every author,
there, and because the planners are a heroic band of crime fiction lovers who
have created an ongoing festival that rotates from western city to western city
but with the same band of cheerful attendees, including lots of enthusiastic
fans. Blogger and salon hostess Janet
Rudolph not only gets deeply involved most years, but also manages the
fan-voted awards, a celebratory event that everyone looks forward to. (Yes,
some year, I’d like to be a finalist!)

My first exposure to conferences, and
the pivotal one for me, was the Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference,
held annually in Marin County California at an influential bookstore. The first
time I went, when I was tentative and apologetic at my own temerity in thinking
I might write crime fiction, featured Sue
Grafton, who was – and still is – so down to earth, approachable, and
direct that I could stop pinching myself when I sat next to her at lunch and
actually soak up a little advice and courage. I’ve been back twice since then
and, in 2008, found my agent, Kimberley
Cameron, there. I also met and had small classes with such accessible
luminaries as Elizabeth George, Cara
Black, and Jackie Winspear. Conferences
are for writers because honesty, openness, and the ability to ask questions
that may expose one’s weaknesses is crucial.

A new-ish conference and one I really
enjoy is the California Crime Writers event (June 6-7 this year) in L.A.
Sponsored and totally put together by Sisters in Crime’s and Mystery Writers of
America’s southern California chapters, it’s quickly become a significant place
for writers to gather, network, listen to each other, drink together, the
latter being as important a part of conferences as any other aspect.

There are others, and my fellow Minds
will have their own favorites. I’ll be reading theirs this week to see what
further adventures I should consider. I’m guessing they’ll all have one thing
in common: the party’s always at the bar! See you at CCW.

Friday, April 17, 2015

What are three things you know now that you didn't when you started as a fiction writer?

The right margin doesn't need to line up.The first time I sat down at a typewriter was at my dad's Chevrolet dealership in Richlands, North Carolina. I remember it was a Saturday, because the receptionist wasn't there (it was her typewriter), but I don't remember the year, except to the extent that I had moved beyond picture books by that point. I slid a sheet of paper into the typewriter, quickly pecked out the first line of my story, shuttled the carriage over to start the second line, quickly pecked that one out too—and then stopped. What I saw wasn't right. I found a bottle of liquid paper, smeared it across the end of the line, tried again—with a shorter word. Still not right. More liquid paper, and a medium sized word this time, and....

The books I was reading then had all the text justified on the right side. How did those writers always find words of just the right length? How would I ever figure it out?

Undoubtedly, there are other lessons there.

There are 118 ways to do something—and they might all work.Once upon a time, I thought that each story had the perfect way of being told, and the trick was to find it—through trial and error, through getting feedback from readers and following it, through year after year of toiling through missteps before I reached some mastery of form. Now I recognize that perfection doesn't really happen—maybe shouldn't; that each choice has both its own rewards and its own losses; and that one person's way of telling a story may not be mine, any more than mine should be theirs, or that either of ours is the better way.

Note: This applies to both process and product.

Note 2: I could've said 119 things above, or 117 maybe. Likely the point would've come across the same.

Being a writer involves more than you and a keyboard—involves more than you, period.I firmly believe that the most important part of being a writer is writing. However, I've also come to believe it's not the only part.

By this, I don't mean that we writers today also have to be our own editors and marketers and public relations experts and social media mavens and salespeople, etc. All that may be true as well, but all that is also focused on how we try to produce, package, and present our own work to the public—the next steps beyond pecking out our stories.

Instead, what I'm talking about is that often bandied about term of literary citizenship—of participating and contributing generously to the larger literary community. Over the past year, as much of my time has been spent on other people's writing as on my own: reading and commenting on the student manuscripts from my fiction workshop at George Mason University, trying to help cultivate those terrific young talents; reading through (and so far very much enjoying!) the submissions to the Bouchercon anthology I've been asked to guest edit; offering feedback on various friends' latest manuscripts (and my wife's too—a benefit of marrying a writer, as she pointed out here); serving as a judge for a couple of major contests and hopefully bringing some great talents more firmly into the limelight; and right on down the line—even to things as simple as celebrating someone's cover reveal (Hi, Ed Aymar!) or noting a book birthday or two (Hi,Bonnie StevensandDiane Vallere!) or attending a book launch (Hi, Jonathan Harper!) and, yes, buying and reading a book or two—or 24. Except for my work at Mason, none of that is compensated... though if Ed wants to send me a check for a shout-out, he knows where to reach me.

As writers, we have a responsibility to ourselves and to our craft—but we also have a very real responsibility to the larger world of writers and readers in which we live and work. Being active, being involved, being part of larger conversations, making larger contributions—all that is important too.

Corollary to above: As Alan posted yesterday, writers drink—a lot—part of the camaraderie of a literary community maybe. Turns out you can drink as part of literary citizenship too. Here's my contribution to the social media campaign around the new Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Gary Phillips' Switchblade Cocktail. Note the dash of red cutting through the drink. And hi, Gary! We miss you here at the blog.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

What are three things you know now that you didn't when you started as a fiction writer?

1. Writing is easy. Writing something that is good, that other people want to read, that other people want to represent, that other people want to actually spend hard-earned money on? That is HARD. But as my father used to say, if it was easy, everybody would be doing it.

2. Writing is subjective. REALLY subjective. Before I began writing, I knew, on some level, that not everyone liked the same books (substitute: movies, songs, flavors of ice cream, Spice Girls). But I sorta figured that most people didn’t have wildly divergent opinions about the same work. Boy, was I wrong! It’s amazing to me how two people can feel totally different about the same book or story. “How can any self-respecting publishing house put out this dreck?” versus “That’s the best book I’ve read all year.” And that happens more often than you might think. Of course, this is a good thing (usually).

3. Before I began writing fiction, I’m not sure I even knew anybody who claimed to be a writer. (You know, those unkempt weirdos always mumbling to themselves and gesturing insanely in the air—I steered clear.) Now I know plenty of “writers,” and they are the most intelligent, witty, fascinating, generous, friendly, engaging, erudite (look it up, people!), welcoming, gregarious, and informative people I’ve ever met. Did I mention how welcoming they are? It’s difficult to be a wallflower at a mystery convention no matter how hard you try, trust me. (Based on the above description, I’m not sure I belong, but if you don’t tell anybody, I won’t!) I mean, it’s actually COOL to be a writer!

3A. Writers drink. A lot. Especially mystery/thriller writers.

*******

I’m giving away two copies of RUNNING FROM THE PAST (trade paperback) on Goodreads! Click thru to enter (US residents only—sorry.). Only three more days, so enter NOW!

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

1.This is a business. Publishers are
people, too and, as such they need to make money. Your book is an investment.
They need to – if not outright KNOW – then be pretty damn sure that your book
will bring in revenue. Therefore, rejections are not personal. They are a part
of business. An editor can LOVE your book and still not be able to justify
investing the money to print 3,000 copies of it. Think about it, your little
darling brings home a watercolor giraffe formed out of his handprint. Do you
love it? Yes. Will you keep it?Yes.Are you willing to shell out
$50,000 dollars to have copies made in the hopes that this adorable hand
giraffe will sell like hot-cakes and cause Oprah to come out of retirement just
so she can dub it her new “favorite thing”? Probably not.

2.This is a job. When you first
(bashfully) tell someone that you are writing a book in your spare time, it’s
like the beginning of a love affair. You can’t wait to see each other, you
happily ditch other activities to spend time together, and being together is a
non-stop thrill. But one day, it’s no longer a “little thing you do on the
side” – it’s your job. You still love it, but now there are deadlines and days when
you really don’t want to write and days when you simply can’t. That can suck
some of the fun out of it and is why so many great authors seem to drink their
feelings* (*this statement has not been proven, but is widely regarded as fact
in my head).

3.You will want more. Have you every
watched an interview with a movie star and heard them say, “Well, I’m really
hoping to direct one day,” and thought “God, you are such a putz!”? Well, when
you first start writing, usually your goal is (after finishing the book) merely
to get it published. That is your crowning achievement. Until you actually get
published. Then it’s “please let me get a good review” followed by, “please let
it sell well.” From there are such hurdles as “Well, an award would be nice,”
followed by “I’ve been signed to write 12,908 more,” and then the “I made the New York Times Best Seller List again!”
and lastly, “Oh, did you hear? Paramount is making the movie.” In a way this is
good – it means you keep moving, keep pushing yourself. In another way this is
bad, because you forget to stop and enjoy what you’ve achieved. So, my advice?
Remember to stop and enjoy. And maybe not be so judgmental when an actor starts
talking about his dream to direct.

Q&A with Criminal Minds!

Question of the Week

Each week the crime fiction authors of Criminal Minds respond to a question about writing, reading, murder and mayhem.Question of the Week:: CraftWhen you have an idea for a book or story, do you tell people about it? How do you start writing? Do you think about it for a while? Write notes immediately? Think about the character first? Or plot first? Outline?

Join the Community

Mondays with Susan

Susan C. Shea has a new series set in France. The latest is Dressed for Death in Burgundy. The third in her Dani O'Rourke series came out in Feb. 2016. She lives in Marin County, CA.

Mondays with Brenda

With numerous award nominations for her books, Brenda Chapman pens the Stonechild and Rouleau police procedural series; the Anna Sweet novellas for adult literacy; and the Jennifer Bannon mysteries for young adults. Booklist recommends the Stonechild series "highly to crime-fiction fans looking for a new author". Brenda lives in Ottawa, Canada.

Tuesdays with Frank

Frank Zafiro writes several different series by himself (River City, Stefan Kopriva, SpoCompton) and teams up with other authors like Colin Conway, Eric Beetner, Jim Wilsky, Larry Kelter, and Bonnie Paulson for additional mayhem. He is a retired cop and a tortured guitarist.

Tuesdays with Terry

Terry Shames writes the Macavity Award-winning Samuel Craddock series, set in small-town Texas. BookPeople has twice dubbed her one of the top five Texas mystery authors.

Wednesdays with Cathy

Cathy Ace writes the traditional, Bony Blithe Award-winning Cait Morgan Mysteries, the WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries, set in her native Wales, and the IPPY Award-winning psychological suspense novel THE WRONG BOY is her latest novel. She lives in rural British Columbia.

Wednesdays with Dietrich

Dietrich Kalteis is the award-winning author of Ride the Lightning (bronze medal winner, 2015 Independent Publisher Book Awards, for best regional fiction), The Deadbeat Club, Triggerfish, House of Blazes (silver medal winner, 2017 Independent Publisher Book Awards, for best historical fiction), Zero Avenue and Poughkeepsie Shuffle. 50 of his short stories have also been published internationally. He lives with his family on Canada’s West Coast.

Thursdays with Catriona

Catriona McPherson is the Anthony, Agatha, Macavity, IndieFab and Lefty winning author of the DANDY GILVER series set in Scotland in the 1920s, as well as two darker stand-alones AS SHE LEFT IT and THE DAY SHE DIED. Catriona lives in northern California with a black cat and a scientist.

Thursdays with Jim

James W. Ziskin (Jim to his friends) is the author of the Edgar-, Anthony-, Barry-, Lefty-, and Macavity-nominated Ellie Stone Mysteries. He's 6'2", weighs 200 pounds, and writes like a girl.

Fridays with Paul

Paul D. Marks pulled a gun on the LAPD...and lived to tell about. A former "script doctor," Paul's novel WHITE HEAT is a 2013 SHAMUS AWARD WINNER. Publishers Weekly calls WHITE HEAT a "taut crime yarn." Paul is also the author of over thirty published short stories in a variety of genres, including several award winners. GHOSTS OF BUNKER HILL, from the 12/16 Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, was voted #1 in the 2016 Ellery Queen Readers Poll.

Fridays with Abir

Abir Mukherjee is the Times bestselling author of the Sam Wyndham series of crime novels set in Raj era India. His debut, A Rising Man, won the CWA Endeavour Dagger for best historical crime novel of 2017 and was shortlisted for the MWA Edgar for best novel. His second novel, A Necessary Evil, won the Wilbur Smith Award for Adventure Writing, is currently shortlisted for the Barry for best novel, and was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of 2018. His third novel, Smoke and Ashes, is out in the UK and will be released in the US in March 2019. Abir grew up in Scotland and now lives in London with his wife and two sons.